Qwest Field
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Qwest Field | |
|---|---|
| Seahawks Stadium | |
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| Location | 800 Occidental Avenue S. Seattle, Washington 98134-1200 |
| Broke ground | April 2000 |
| Opened | 2002 |
| Owner | Washington State Public Stadium Authority |
| Operator | First & Goal Inc. |
| Surface | FieldTurf |
| Construction cost | $360 million |
| Architect | Ellerbe Becket & First and Goal, Inc |
| Former names | Seahawks Stadium (2002-2004) |
| Tenants | Seattle Seahawks (NFL) (2002-present) Seattle Sounders (USL 1) (2002-2008) Seattle Bowl (NCAA) (2002) Seattle Sounders FC (MLS) (2009-future) |
| Capacity | 67,000 (expandable to 72,000 for special events) |
Qwest Field is a stadium built for football and soccer located in Seattle, Washington. It serves as the home field for the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, the men's and women's Seattle Sounders soccer teams, and will be home of Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders FC beginning in 2009.[1] The stadium opened in July 2002 and was built on the site of the Kingdome, the previous stadium for the Seahawks, Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners, and several other Seattle sports teams. On March 26, 2000, to make way for the construction of the stadium, the Kingdome fell in the world's largest implosion of a single concrete structure.[2]
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[edit] History
The stadium was originally named Seahawks Stadium. The name Qwest Field was announced on June 2, 2004,[3] after Qwest bought the naming rights for $75 million (for 15 years).[4] Although some people began using the new name immediately, the official approval wasn't given until twenty-two days later (June 24) by the Washington State Public Stadium Authority. Seahawks owner Paul Allen funded $160 million of the stadium's $460 million cost out of his pocket,[5] the remainder being paid by a funding package of user fees, sports lottery revenue, and taxes on related industries. Construction was authorized by a state-wide special election paid for by the Seahawks ownership.[6] It passed largely because every county on the more populous western side of the state approved the measure. The only county on the eastern side to support it was Benton County.
Allen was intimately involved in the stadium design. He rejected plans for a retractable roof and directed the architects to minimize the stadium footprint as much as possible to bring fans closer to the action. A special feature was added in 2003 after Allen hired star sports marketing executive Tod Leiweke as the Seahawks' new CEO. Leiweke, who had turned the Minnesota Wild into one of the hottest tickets in the NHL, notably had a large flagpole installed in the south end zone. Leiweke began a pregame tradition in which a local celebrity, often a former Seahawk, raised a large blue flag numbered "12" on this flagpole to the roars of the crowd. The "12" represents the fans as the "12th man"; the Seahawks had retired #12 in honor of their fans in the 1980s. The flag-raising is now a regular feature of network television coverage of Seahawks games.
The field surface at Qwest Field was originally planned to be natural grass. The success of the new FieldTurf at Husky Stadium in 2000 and 2001 caused the Seahawks management to reconsider and install it at the new stadium in 2002. The original FieldTurf lasted six seasons, replaced in March 2008.
Qwest Field has earned a reputation as arguably the loudest stadium in the NFL. Allen had the architects design the structure of the stadium, especially the roof, to direct as much crowd noise as possible on the field. In addition, the north end zone seating, called the "Hawks Nest", was specifically designed for rowdy fans; the seating consists of metal bleachers which reflect sound, and fans often stomp to create even more. Seahawks fans already had a reputation for being among the most vociferous in the NFL; while they played in the Kingdome, opposing teams often practiced with rock music blaring at full blast to prepare for the often painfully high decibel levels typical of Seahawk games.
The biggest crowd ever to attend a Seattle Seahawks football game was 68,331 on Monday, November 12, 2007 against the San Francisco 49ers. Fans experienced their first snow game in the history of Qwest Field on November 27, 2006 against the Green Bay Packers with the Seahawks winning 34-24 with Shaun Alexander rushing for 202 yards. The first playoff game in the history of Qwest Field was on January 8, 2005, when the St. Louis Rams beat the Seahawks team for the third time that season, 27-20.
A friendly soccer match was played at Qwest Field on May 31, 2008 between Brazil and Canada national soccer teams. Brazil won the game, 3-2.
[edit] Features
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This section Features does not cite any references or sources. (May 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
Within Qwest Field, there is a Seahawks tribute to high school football of the State of Washington. A section of the Stadium entitled "The State of Football", features a large depiction of the State of Washington and holds replica football helmets from every high school football team in the State. Another tribute to the high school sport is hosting the annual Emerald City Kickoff Classic, a season opening series of games between some of the best teams in the state. The games also feature a meeting between one of the best teams in Washington and one of the best from another state[citation needed]. The most memorable[citation needed] of these games was in 2004 when the 3 time consecutive Washington State 3A champions the Bellevue Wolverines ended the high school record 155 game winning streak of the De La Salle Spartans of Concord, California[citation needed].
[edit] Stadium Contracts
Qwest Field is one of the few professional sports stadiums in the United States that does not have a beverage contract with Coca-Cola or Pepsi. Jones Soda is currently the official drink of Qwest Field and is served at the concession stands.[7]
[edit] False Starts
Qwest Field gained national attention during the Seahawks' game versus the New York Giants on November 27, 2005. Largely due to the crowd noise, the Giants committed 11 false start penalties.[8] The following season before the Giants came back to Seattle for another regular season game, they filed a complaint with the NFL accusing Qwest Field was pumping in artificial noise in the PA system in order to distract visiting offense from running a play.[9] Crowd noise contributed to a league-high 24 false-start penalties in 2005 alone.[10] Since 2005 the Seahawks have tracked the number of false start penalties and displays the total on the scoreboard to motivate the fans to make noise when the opposing offense is attempting to run a play. On January 5, 2008, during the NFC Wildcard Playoff game, the Washington Redskins committed 1 false start penalty to raise the total since 2005 to 69,[11] most in the NFL.
[edit] College Football
The stadium has hosted a Washington State Cougars "home game" each year since its opening in 2002, including the 2003 "Battle of the Palouse" against the Idaho Vandals. The Cougars have won all but one of these games, losing to Colorado in 2004. [1] The hometown Washington Huskies played an "away" game in the stadium in 2005, falling to the Air Force Falcons in Tyrone Willingham's first game as the head coach.[12]
The NCAA Division II football teams of Western Washington Vikings and Central Washington Wildcats meet each year at Qwest Field in an intense rivalry game called "The Battle in Seattle."
Also, the Washington Huskies may play a full year at Qwest Field while Husky Stadium is being upgraded. The Seahawks played two years at Husky Stadium (2000-01) while Qwest Field was built.
[edit] Gallery
 A view of Qwest Field, Safeco Field, and Mount Rainier from the top of the Space Needle. |
 Outside of Qwest Field. |
 Qwest Field at night. |
 Qwest Field with the Seattle Skyline |
 Qwest Field North Side |
 Celebration after Seattle's 2005 NFC championship |
 Entrance to Qwest field. |
 Looking South at Qwest Field |
[edit] Notes & References
- ^ Bell, Gregg (November 9, 2007). Seattle to get expansion MLS franchise for 2009. USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
- ^ Kingdome stadium is imploded on March 26, 2000.. HistoryLink.org. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
- ^ Seattle Seahawks (June 2, 2004). "Seahawks Stadium to be Named 'Qwest Field'". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
- ^ Romero, José Miguel (June 4, 2004). Qwest deal worth $75 million. The Seattle Times. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
- ^ Qwest Communications gets naming rights. ESPN.com (June 2, 2004). Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
- ^ Washington State Office of the Secretary of State
- ^ Harris, Craig (May 23, 2007). Jones Soda lands soft drink rights at Qwest Field. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved on 2008-01-08.
- ^ Johnson, Scott M. (January 10, 2006). The Sound Has Effects in Seattle. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2008-01-08.
- ^ http://www.youwager.com/clubhouse/publish/article_267.shtml
- ^ Colsto, Chris (September 24, 2006). Hasselbeck, Seahawks light up Giants 42-30. USA Today. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
- ^ Search Results | Seattle Times Newspaper
- ^ Miller, Ted (August 26, 2005). What you see is what you get with Willingham. ESPN.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
[edit] External Links
| Preceded by Husky Stadium 2000–2001 |
Home of the Seattle Seahawks 2002–Present |
Succeeded by Current |
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